GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 3 Florida gymnastics finishes a five-meet stretch versus top-12 teams Friday at No. 6 Auburn. For the second consecutive season, the Gators finish Southeastern Conference action in the state of Alabama versus the lone league opponent in position to share the 2022 SEC regular-season title with Florida.
The Gators clinched at least a share of the 2022 SEC title with its Feb. 18 win at Kentucky. An Auburn win Friday would give the Tigers a share of their first SEC title. Entering the final Friday of SEC regular-season action, all other league teams have at least two losses. Florida seeks to become the fifth SEC regular-season champion with an undefeated record (LSU: 2017, 2018; UF: 2020, 2021).
This is the sixth year for the awarding of a regular-season SEC gymnastics title. From 1981-2016, the winner at the SEC Championship meet was considered the league champion.
How to Follow the Gators:
Florida at Auburn begins at 8 p.m. in the Auburn Arena. The meet streams on SEC Network +. Britt Bowen and Toi Garcia call the action.
Follow the action on SEC Network +<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.espn.com_watch_player-3Fid-3D9b23beff-2Db11b-2D4f11-2Da0a6-2D1436f6ea2867&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=DTbfirX8n-l1AM3hdYjZzkGWjPhgavylh-sFU7Fs0JISrstN1c-UUQCRAIn_aZwb&s=Wzm1r3rFGZBOkETUbJw775pEz7lOjiycLMm3Z5X1HlI&e= > or follow the scores<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__stats.statbroadcast.com_statmonitr_-3Fid-3D403568&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=DTbfirX8n-l1AM3hdYjZzkGWjPhgavylh-sFU7Fs0JISrstN1c-UUQCRAIn_aZwb&s=w0tm6N0yYruahz7mti1OYu9NaBmP1nX7GlRVRYLIJO4&e= >.
In the Gators’ Last Meet:
Florida built on a midpoint lead to post the nation’s high total of the week to win 198.10 – 197.75 over No. 2 Oklahoma.<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2022_2_25_gymnastics-2Dno-2D3-2Dgators-2Dwins-2Dover-2Dno-2D2-2Doklahoma-2Don-2Dsenior-2Dnight.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=DTbfirX8n-l1AM3hdYjZzkGWjPhgavylh-sFU7Fs0JISrstN1c-UUQCRAIn_aZwb&s=WHOWHbW8NhqTru2SANABFCcG2PYPgoVTSXIShjWVQRU&e= > The total is the nation’s sixth highest of the season and UF now has half of the top-six team totals of 2022.
Gator senior Trinity Thomas claimed at least a share of each of the five event titles Friday for the second event sweep of her career. Her all-around total of 39.85 is the nation’s 2022 leader and No. 2 all-time for the Gators. She shared the vault win at 9.925 with freshman Sloane Blakely and OU’s Jordan Bowers and Danielle Sievers. Megan Skaggs shared the uneven bars with Thomas at 9.95. Thomas used a near-perfect 9.975 for the balance beam win and posted her third floor exercise 10.0 of 2022 to close the evening. She leads the nation with five 10.0s in 2022 and extended her UF career lead to 13 10.0s.
SEC Gymnast of the Week Goes to Trinity Thomas:
For her performance versus the Sooners, Thomas claimed the SEC Gymnast of the Week honor<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2022_3_1_gymnastics-2Dtrinity-2Dthomas-2Dis-2Dsec-2Dgymnast-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dweek.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=DTbfirX8n-l1AM3hdYjZzkGWjPhgavylh-sFU7Fs0JISrstN1c-UUQCRAIn_aZwb&s=Mh-8KQquRvPkhW6fe5DeA8dosY0rJEUAR_pteg6kxDw&e= >. The honor extends her league record to 16 SEC Gymnast of the Week recognitions. Thomas is the third Gator to claim SEC Gymnast of the Week honors in 2022, joining Sloane Blakely (Week 1) and Leanne Wong (Week 6).
About the Auburn Tigers:
The Tigers have ranked among the nation’s top eight throughout this season. Auburn comes off posting its all-time high of 197.925 in last Friday’s home win over Kentucky. Freshman Sunisa Lee is the first Olympic all-around gold medalist to compete in NCAA action. Her season-high of 39.825 set at then No. 8 LSU is the nation’s No. 2 all-around total for 2022. She’s scored 10.0 in both uneven bars and balance beam this season and is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.
Series History:
Florida leads 86-10.
Last meeting: UF was third(196.975) at 2021 SEC Championships and Auburn was fifth (196.275).
Rankings:
Florida: No. 3 on the Week 8 Road to Nationals site<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__roadtonationals.com_results_standings_season_2022_8_0_5&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=DTbfirX8n-l1AM3hdYjZzkGWjPhgavylh-sFU7Fs0JISrstN1c-UUQCRAIn_aZwb&s=TJzTCHaO14PicJRx_2GhnoBvGYk1YyxXwutr_maLCbU&e= >
Auburn: No. 6
